Simvastatin Reduce Human Metapneumovirus Replication Via Inhibiting Cell Entry

Human metapneumovirus(hMPV)is an important pathogen causing acute lower respiratory tract infection in children.It may have fatal consequences for immunodeficiency,post-transplant patients and the elderly because of severe pneumonia,respiratory failure,and multiple organ damage.Co-infection with other pathogens can increase the severity of the original infection.However,there is no effective vaccine or drugs in the clinic for prevention presently.Our previous study has demonstrated that hMPV cell entry by endocytosis and lipid rafts could be involved in cell entry.Lipid raft is a microdomain with transport function on the cell membrane.Cholesterol is an important component and plays an important role in its structure and function.Based on these previous results,we investigated whether can inhibit hMPV infection with lipid-lowering agents which has applied clinically.Statin is inexpensive drug that has been used for many years for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and have a favorable safety profile.Simvastatin,a widely used anti-hypercholesterolemia drug,which has been used to reduce cellular cholesterol thus to inhibit information of lipid rafts.The purpose of this study is to investigate whether simvastatin could as a drug candidate against infection.